There's No Better Gauge of Our Humanity Than a Heartwarming Random Act of Kindness

By Dustin Rowles | Miscellaneous | September 29, 2017 |

By Dustin Rowles | Miscellaneous | September 29, 2017 |

I checked out of politics this morning (there will be no Morning Briefing). I didn’t watch the morning shows. I didn’t check political Twitter when I woke up, as I do nearly every other morning. I couldn’t deal with the worst of people today, and right now, the worst of people keeps invading politics, where kindness only seems to exist where points can be scored, and where the leader of our country seems to have zero affinity for goodness.

Some of you who play fantasy football may be familiar with Rob Kelley, the Washington Reds**ns running back, who has been fitfully impressive when he’s not injured. Likewise, Keith Marshall has been on the I.R. for two seasons. Their fantasy prowess, or lack thereof, however, has nothing to do with this story.

This story is about a 10-year-old kid named Jaden, who walked into a video game store this week wearing a Colin Kaepernick jersey. He did not go in to buy anything, but to browse and to dream about a video-game console he might own one day. Little did he know that his golden ticket was waiting inside.

A few minutes after walking into that store, Jaden ran back out and into a neighboring store where his grandmother was getting her make-up done. “He’s jumping up and down, saying, ‘Nana! Nana! Nana! These two guys want to buy me an Xbox. You’ve got to come right now.”

Jaden’s Nana was skeptical of anyone who might buy her grandson an X-box. She advocated for abused and neglected children and she thought the worst. She ran with her grandson back into the GameStop, however, and discovered the best.

Here’s how a man named Joey Snapp — who witnessed what transpired in that GameStop — described the situation on his Facebook wall:

Today I witnessed one of the most amazing acts of kindness I’ve ever witnessed. I was in Gamestop and a child walked in around 11 years old talking about how his birthday was coming up and he’s wanted and Xbox one for a few years but his parents couldn’t afford it. Another customer overheard this and walked up and asked the child what the issue was. The child explained again that he wanted an Xbox for the last few years for his birthday but his parents couldn’t afford it. These two gentlemen told the kid they wanted to buy him an Xbox for his birthday and to go out and get his mom and make sure it was ok. The kid in shocked went and told his mother and this mother came into the store wondering who wanted to buy their child an Xbox. The mom walks in and the one guy said this .

“Ma’am my name is Keith Marshall and this is Rob Kelley and we play for the Washington Redskins and we would love to buy your son an Xbox one for his birthday.”

My jaw hit the floor watching this. So they buy him the Xbox and a game and they take pictures with the child and go on about their day. I didn’t even know what to say. It was such a good moment from 2 guys who I will forever be a fan of from this day on.

Jaden, by the way, is a Cowboys fan. But as he told The Washington Post, he’s also a Colin Kaepernick fan: “I liked how he wasn’t afraid to show what he thought. He risked getting fired, which was a big thing. I wouldn’t even do that, but he did, and I really like him for standing out. I don’t know if people agree with it, but he just doesn’t care what people say and that’s inspired me and probably inspired other people.”

My guess is that today, he’s also a Washington fan.

The capper to this story: Jaden woke up the next day and thought it was a all a dream.

“Jaden flew on cloud nine to the car,” Saundra said. “The next morning, he woke up and looked at me and said, ‘Nana, I had a dream that I was in a GameStop and two Reds**ns players bought me an Xbox.’ I said, ‘That wasn’t a dream, you dodo, that really happened.’ It was un-be-lievable. Unbelievable. He’s just such a good kid and it was just such a blessing. It was just so wonderful, the experience of a lifetime.”

And that folks is a much better story than whatever lie Donald Trump is telling this morning.

👍🏼👍🏼@Redskins RB's Keith Marshall & Rob Kelley who bought XBox for this boy after overhearing he couldn't afford it (via @ScottSAllen ) pic.twitter.com/LpMIQYJXC7

— Laura Britt (@Laura_Britt_) September 29, 2017

To keep the good vibes rolling, here’s Judah Friedlander hugging a lot of strangers.